2019MNRAS.483..767D -
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 483, 767-779 (2019/February-2)
NuSTAR and XMM-Newton broad-band spectrum of SAX J1808.4-3658 during its latest outburst in 2015.
DI SALVO T., SANNA A., BURDERI L., PAPITTO A., IARIA R., GAMBINO A.F. and RIGGIO A.
Abstract (from CDS):
The first discovered accreting millisecond pulsar, SAX J1808.4-3658, went into X-ray outburst in 2015 April. We triggered a 100 ks XMM-Newton ToO, taken at the peak of the outburst, and a 55 ks NuSTAR ToO, performed 4 d apart. We report here the results of a detailed spectral analysis of both the XMM-Newton and NuSTAR spectra. While the XMM-Newton spectrum appears much softer than in previous observations, the NuSTAR spectrum confirms the results obtained with XMM-Newton during the 2008 outburst. We find clear evidence of a broad iron line that we interpret as produced by reflection from the inner accretion disc. For the first time, we use a self-consistent reflection model to fit the reflection features in the NuSTAR spectrum; in this case, we find a statistically significant improvement of the fit with respect to a simple Gaussian or diskline model to fit the iron line, implying that the reflection continuum is also significantly detected. Despite the differences evident between the XMM-Newton and NuSTAR spectra, the smearing best-fitting parameters found for these spectra are consistent with each other and are compatible with previous results. In particular, we find an upper limit to the inner disc radius of ∼12Rg. In all the cases, a high inclination angle (>50°) of the system is required. This inclination angle, combined with measurements of the radial velocity of the optical companion, results in a low value for the neutron star mass (< 0.8 M_☉), a result that deserves further investigation.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society
Journal keyword(s):
line: formation - line: identification - stars: individual: SAX J1808.4-3658 - stars: magnetic fields - stars: neutron - X-rays: binaries - X-rays: general
Simbad objects:
13
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